This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(f) of the application for a grant of European Community Plant Variety Rights which was filed for the instant plant variety on Jan. 14, 2010, File Number 2010/0085.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Nemesia plant that is grown as an ornamental plant for use in the garden border, in patio containers or in the landscape. The new cultivar is known botanically as Nemesia×hybrida and will be referred to hereinafter by the cultivar name ‘FLEURBW’.
‘FLEURBW’ resulted from a formal breeding program begun by the inventor in 1998 at her nursery in West Sussex, United Kingdom. The purpose of the breeding program is to produce new varieties of Nemesia that exhibit compact habit and new flower colors and color combinations.
In 2004, the inventor conducted controlled cross-pollination between the inventor's variety of Nemesia plant named ‘FLEURBAC” (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 16,931) as male parent, and an unnamed and unreleased seedling raised by the inventor as female parent. This cross-pollination produced many seedlings from which the inventor selected ‘FLEURBW’. The inventor selected ‘FLEURBW’ for the attractiveness and uniqueness of its bi-colored flowers whose upper lip is bright red-purple in color and which contrasts with the predominantly clear white color of the lower lip of the flowers. In addition, the inventor was attracted to the tidy compact form of the new seedling and the amount of bloom at peak flowering.
‘FLEURBW’ may be compared with the bi-colored male parent, ‘FLEURBAC’. ‘FLEURBAC’ is also the closest comparison variety known to the inventor, since both ‘FLEURBAC and ‘FLEURBW’ are bi-colored and have a compact habit. However, whereas the upper lip of the flower of ‘FLEURBAC’ is violet-blue in color, the upper lip of ‘FLEURBW’ is red-purple in color.
‘FLEURBW’ may be compared with the unreleased female parent as follows: Whereas the upper lip of the flower of ‘FLEURBW’ is red-purple in color and the lower lip of ‘FLEURBW’ is white, the upper and lower lips of the female parent are pink and pale pink respectively.
‘FLEURBW’ may also be compared with another of the inventor's varieties, ‘FLEURRAS’ (unpatented). Both ‘FLEURBW’ and ‘FLEURRAS’ exhibit red-purple (upper lip) and white (lower lip) bi-colored flowers. The flowers of ‘FLEURBW” exhibit significantly less “bleeding” of color from upper lip to lower lip which results in an almost entirely white lower lip. In addition, the plant height of ‘FLEURRAS’ is approximately 25% greater than the height of ‘FLEURBW’.
‘FLEURBW’ was first asexually propagated by the inventor in 2004 in a cultivated area of West Sussex, United Kingdom using softwood cuttings. The inventor has determined that the distinguishing characteristics of ‘FLEURBW’ are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.